Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega incarnata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Pink Milkwort from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala incarnata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Polygala incarnata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala incarnata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala incarnata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Polygala incarnata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-013:
Polygala incarnata FAMILY Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Galypola incarnata
COMMON NAME:
Pink Milkwort, Procession-flower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_poin4_001_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_incarnata_08964
April Collier County FL
Big Cypress National Preserve
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_p_incarnata_0748
May Lincoln County NC
The corolla is twice as long as the longest sepal, unique among the genus, per Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999).
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_p_incarnata_0028
June Catawba County NC
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_p_incarnata_0031
June Catawba County NC
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_p_incarnata_0036b
June Catawba County NC
Corolla nearly 3x longer than wings; borne in a slender compact raceme, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_polygala_incarnata
August
Common to all milkworts are a 3-petalled corolla tube & 2 "wings" (sepals), per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Senega incarnata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polygala incarnata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Polygala incarnata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polygala incarnata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polygala incarnata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Polygala incarnata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 106-01-013:
Polygala incarnata
FAMILY
Polygalaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Galypola incarnata
3273
Forb
Annual
Habitat: pine savannas, woodlands, glades, upland dry prairies, fields, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Pinkish
Bilaterally symmetrical
5 sepals (three small, two larger petaloid "wings")
3 petals united into a tube
8 stamens united to corolla tube in 2 rows
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p317
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p045
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p287
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p162
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p199
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p091
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".